Kanye West will be receiving the top honor at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards this Sunday (Aug. 30). Yeezy will reportedly be presented with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award for his distinctively creative music videos that he has released throughout his a career.
Whether Ye’ will hit the stage or not has not been confirmed.
Lil Pooh from Dallas has been on the grind for a minute so seeing this video for “Streets Dont Owe U” is definitely good to see. “Streets Don’t Owe You” is a story and an ode to the game and staying true to streets and yourself at the same time.
Nas is partnering up with General Assembly to sponsor scholarships for African-American and Lationo students, according to reports.
General Assembly, a vocational school for engineering and programming in New York City, is opening the “Opportunity Fund” to help bring diversity into technology. Microsoft, Google and Hirepurpose will also provide monies for the project. Each company will sponsor different populations. While Nas will give scholarships to African-Americans and Latinos, Microsoft and Hirepurpose will provide funding for veterans and Google will give scholarships to women.
“This is the start of what hopefully will be a contribution to what will be a more diverse and accessible community worldwide,” General Assembly CEO Jake Schwartz told the Observer.
Although Drake and Serena Williams have gotten close again, it seems like Serena may take it slow due to Drake’s love for strippers, thots, and Instagram models. Allegedly Serena’s friends are telling her don’t forget about how Drake gets down. Rumor has it that although Williams has had love for Drake since their first go round in 2011, she had to cut off heartbreak Drake over his wandering eyes. Apparently they are back together as they put all of their chemistry on display while making out at a restaurant recently. We guess Drizzy won’t be flying women out anymore. Do you think Drake will cut off all of his women for Serena?
We all know that ASAP love that purp in his cup and in his music so in a recent interview with Dx, it was no surprise when ASAP Rocky recently detailed his afinity for Pimp C and also Tyler, The Creator.
To further show his appreciation, the Harlem, New York rapper says he plans on assisting Chinara Butler, Pimp C’s widow, on the UGK member’s upcoming posthumous album, Long Live The Pimp.
“I have to,” Rocky says during an exclusive interview with HipHopDX at the celebration of the new Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note5. “It’s my duty, 100 percent. As much inspiration, as many times I done said that man’s name on record, it’s the least I can do. For anybody. It’s not even just because I, you know, t## for tat. It’s just out my heart. It’d be my honor to be a part of that. That would be a great accomplishment for me.”
With the release of the Straight Outta Compton biopic, some skeletons have been dug up from Dr. Dre’s past. In the 90’s there had been allegations made against Dre claiming that he was abusive towards women. Former TV personality Dee Barnes claimed she was once assaulted and his former girlfriend and mother of one of his children singer Michel’le said he was abusive to her during their relationship.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, The Doctor didn’t deny his abusive past and was apologetic.
“I was young, f—–g stupid, ” he said. “I would say all the allegations aren’t true – some of them are. Those are some of the things that I would like to take back.”
After Straight Outta Compton’s release, Barnes penned an essay for Gawker in which she detailed the attack she suffered at the hands of Dre and how her coming forward led to her being black balled in the industry.
“People ask me, ‘How come you’re not on TV anymore?’ and ‘How come you’re not back on television?’ It’s not like I haven’t tried. I was blacklisted. Nobody wants to work with me. They don’t want to affect their relationship with Dre,” she wrote.
Dre issued an official apology last week saying, “Twenty-five years ago I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life. However, none of this is an excuse for what I did.”
Both women have responded to his apology. While Michel’le feels like it was just for good publicity, Barnes is happy that Dre said sorry.
“I don’t really think it’s a sincere apology,” Michel’le told BBC radio host Dotun Adebayo. “I didn’t ask for a public apology and I think if he is going to apologize he should do it individually. To just group us like we are nothing and nobody – I just don’t think it’s sincere. Treat us like we have names. He’s selling a movie. I just think its good PR at the moment.”
Barnes looked at all the possible reasons for Dre apologizing in another article for Gawker.
“Is this is a PR move by Universal, which released Straight Outta Compton? After all, the film just crossed the $100 million mark its second weekend in theaters. Is it damage control by Apple, which can no longer ignore that if you take the ‘Beats by Dre’ logo and remove the ‘S,’ you get a double entendre describing several woman he just apologized to? Is Dre himself really remorseful or just saving face? To me, the answers to these questions matter less than the fact that Dre stepped up and performed his social responsibility by finally taking accountability for his actions. Who cares why he apologized? The point is that he did.”
There’s an up-and-comer on every corner with a million and one reasons why they deserve to be in the forefront. But when it comes to Apollo Ali, the grandson of boxing legend need look no further than his family tree. WIth his album C.O.N.T.R.A.D.I.C.T.I.O.N. available on iTunes, the Camden native sat with AHH’s MrMecc to talk prize fights, street life & #RealNiggaRules.
Rappers love to “wife” Instagram “models” and “actresses”. It seems like Rick Ross’ boo Lira Mercer may be with Rozay for the money, extra publicity, and the ride. They shared a video of them involved in the most awkward kiss ever. She looked like she DID NOT want to be a part of it. Side note: She is fine though!
Baltimore native Damond Blue looks to keep the momentum going after dropping his new mixtape “Blessonz.” Getting back to the visuals Damond Blue drops an ode to his city on “Oh Baltimore.” On “Oh Baltimore” Damond Blue describes the hardships of growing up in the tough streets of Baltimore. After the riots and backlash from the murder of Freddie Gray this video will give you goosebumps.
Shark’s City finest get together to present the official video to their anthem, “I Da Ni**a.” The incredible feedback recieved over the last year from Amir Driver & Flee Kash’s latest collab led them to shoot the official video to their squad’s anthem.
Photo by Tim Mosenfelder Getty Images Entertainment
So many women have been fed up with their deadbeat rapper baby daddies lately. Chief Keef’s baby mama is confused about why Chief Keef hasn’t helped with their child since the child’s birth. She needs your help to get answers. She posted his contact information all over social media hoping that fans could also contact him and inform him that she needs his help with their son’s 1st birthday party. I don’t know if we can sympathize for anyone who decided to be Chief Keef’s baby mama.
Yet another person has come forward claiming that Lee Daniels stole their idea for Empire.Jon Astor-White is suing producers Lee Daniels and Danny Strong along with Imagine Entertainment and 21st Century Fox for $500 million, according to TMZ.
Astor-White claims that he had pitched a show entitled King Solomon in 2007 and that Empire has a similar story line. Astor-White reportedly wanted his show to be about a record executive and his family’s battle over a record label and wanted the cast to include Richard Roundtree, Diahann Carroll, Alicia Keys, Kanye West and George Hamilton.
Lee Daniels and the rest of the Empire crew are also facing lawsuits from a Michigan woman who claims she is the real Cookie, Marvin Gaye’s son, a record label who claims they stole the name of the label for the show and many others.
During their reign as the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A sold millions of records and solidified their place in hip-hop history as the first successful gangsta rap group. However, they never achieved a top 40 single, until now.
With the release of the N.W.A biopic, Straight Outta Compton, the group’s music is back in the forefront and 26 years after the title track’s release, it has entered the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. This week, Straight Outta Compton landed at the no. 38 spot as this week’s Hot Shot debut.
"Straight Outta Compton" is this week's Hot Shot Debut, 27 years after its release. N.W.A's first Hot 100 hit. pic.twitter.com/1tZYjMJcdn
Besides finally getting their first top 40 single, the Straight Outta Compton biopic remains in the top spot at the box office, bringing in another 26.8 million this past weekend.
Did Safaree take shots at Meek “Twitter Fingers” Mill in his latest promo video? It seems like this generation, rappers included, is lost in keyboard thuggin’ and social media beef. Since Meek was the one publicly dissed about it, we caught that shade Safaree!
This is the official music video from Sean Scott’s “In My City.” The sinister track is brought to life by director Lambkini. The track is off of his forthcoming project My Inception. This track was produced by Pav Bundy.
This week may mark a monumental moment in the future of Hip Hop surfacing from the nation’s capital. Awareness of the Washington, DC rap scene has been growing for several years, and now one of the DMV’s skilled young rhymers is planting his flag as a fresh, compelling artistic voice the music world should keep an eye on.
DC star-on-the-rise Jay IDK (Ignorantly Delivering Knowledge) officially introduces his brand of “Suburban Trap” tunes with the release of his debut studio album SubTrap. Arriving in an era when terrestrial radio is consumed by the melodic choruses of Fetty Wap and Rich Homie Quan while traditional Hip Hop fans flock to lyric-based emcees like Kendrick Lamar and Joey Bada$$, Jay provides a unique union between the trap house and the dorm room.
In many ways, SubTrap presents itself as the audio interpolation of the classic HBO drama The Wire. Jay weaves together the tales of several characters entangled in a domain of drug dealing and drug using. The conceptual LP is loosely based on the London born performer’s real life odyssey from incarcerated teenager to computer science major to HXLY TRiBE leader.
AllHipHop.com connected with Jay IDK to ask the rising rapper about his SubTrap album, the established artists that provided him inspiration, and the industry shining a light on DC-Maryland-Virginia at last.
Can you explain the different personas on the album?
The main character is me, Jay. Then there’s King Trappy III who is me, but he’s my alter ego. Jay is basically selling weed and pills to pay for music. When he starts doing that, he realizes he’s making a little bit of money, but he could make a lot more money if he starts selling coke.
When he starts thinking about selling coke, that’s the whole King Trappy mentality. King Trappy is the big drug lord. Jay IDK is just the weed guy.
Because of King Trappy other characters get created. King Trappy’s the plug, so he has to have someone to sell his drugs to wholesale. That person is Jon Jon. He’s the street hustler who robs and does whatever he has to do so he can survive. Jon Jon has a little brother on the project as well.
Because of Jon Jon, there’s Matt and Ed – the crackhead and the PCP addict. They buy their drugs from Jon Jon. Then there’s Chris who’s the bio student that does drugs to escape reality. Then there’s a secret character named Tyrone, but he won’t be on this project.
Who is “Her”?
Her is the music industry. I speak about the music industry as a girl. She’s pretty much why I’m doing all this stuff. Jay IDK is doing everything for Her.
You set up Twitter accounts for each character on the album.
Yeah, it’s just some creative marketing for the album. Just getting everybody to understand what’s going on.
The Faces Of ‘SubTrap’: Matt, Jon Jon, Tyrone, Chris, & Ed
How do you manage all these different personas? Does it ever get confusing?
Not really. I’ve had an imagination my whole life. I’m an only child. I had imaginary friends when I was little. That’s where all these personas are from.
All of these people are people that I’ve met in my life. I’ve been everywhere from jail to college and in between. Some of them are multiple people I’ve put together to make one character. Some of them even have a little bit of me in them too. So it’s not really as confusing as it may seem.
With you having such an in-depth concept around these characters, have you ever thought about expanding the theme outside of music as a book or short film?
I haven’t thought about a book, but that’s a good idea though. We already started working on – I guess you could call it a short film. It’s really a video, but it’s sort of like a short film as well. We started expanding on that idea a little bit, but we haven’t gotten to a point where it’s super big and every character is in the video. But we’re definitely working on some crazy sh*t.
‘SubTrap’ Artwork Crafted By Nicky Chulo
The cover art definitely relays a message. It shows these different contrasting symbols. What is the connection between the AK-47 and the keyboard?
Selling drugs to pay for music, so King Trappy is on that stoop. The reason why that whole King Trappy mentality comes into play is because of music. That’s basically what I was doing – thinking about selling drugs to pay for music.
There are some fans that take issue with the idea of the heavy use of drug references in a lot of today’s music. Can you explain why it was important to tell that story of selling and using drugs on this album?
I don’t think too many people are doing that right now. I’m not going to say I’m the first person to put substance in Trap music, but at least in this generation, I wouldn’t be surprised if I was. My name is Ignorantly Delivering Knowledge. I like ignorant music, and I like music with substance.
Right now the most ignorant type of music – people could say – is Trap music. Not necessarily because it’s stupid or the people that are doing it are stupid, but more so because there’s not much lyrical content or substance there.
I love Trap music. I love music with substance. So I figured a good way to do this “ignorantly delivering knowledge” thing would be to bring both of them together. The ironic part is that was my life at the time. I just found a way to take that and create this project where I can view both things, and it would make sense.
You can definitely hear the Trap music influence on the album. I could also hear you drawing from artists like Kanye, OutKast, and A Tribe Called Quest. I also noticed you mentioned a lot of rappers on the album. You talked about Eminem, Big L, Dilla, and even Silkk The Shocker. Can you talk about what led to your appreciation for a such a wide range of Hip Hop styles?
First off, you really did your homework. You really listened. When you first said I mentioned a lot of rappers, I started thinking, “I did?” Then you started naming them, and I thought, “Oh yeah, I did.” [laughs]
All of these people that I reference are people that I’ve listened to my whole life. My stepfather used to DJ when he was younger. His favorite rap group of all time is A Tribe Called Quest. He played a lot of this music while I was growing up, and there were times when I got to explore other types of music as well.
There was a time when I didn’t understand Trap music, and I didn’t necessarily like it. As I got older, I started to realize this is still music. These are still stories that people tell. These songs are still good. I started to understand that side of music. So me having an open mind is the most important part to why I’m able to have that wide range.
DMV Hip Hop is having a pretty good year. Wale’s album opened at #1. Shy Glizzy and GoldLink made the XXL Freshman cover. Do you think the DC area is finally starting to get its proper due?
Yeah, it’s starting to. I’ve been meeting with a lot of labels. A lot of people are messing with the DMV. A lot of artists are getting signed out of here now. Every meeting I go to they say, “The DMV is on fire right now.” They’re all looking for that next DMV artist.
Do you think these meetings are going to lead to you signing with someone?
It could. It’s literally what makes sense at this point. We really just want to focus on putting this [album] out. We met with almost everybody. I’m not going to say every single person, but we’ve been to almost every office.
So if it makes sense later down the line, that will be straight, but we really just want to drop this project. We’ve been able to build our buzz independently up to this point without any majors. Let’s see how we do when we drop this project.
You were able to build your buzz without any major label backing, without a major co-sign, and without a major DJ putting you on. What advice would you give to other indie artists on how you were able to get to the level you’re at now without having the industry behind you?
My motto is “you don’t need a manager, until you need a manager.” That means you can do so much for yourself. You can get yourself to a point where you’re buzzing before you even need that. If you’re already relying on this and that to do everything for you when you’re coming out, how strong are you really going to be when you’re at a certain level?
I got myself to the point where I was getting at least 100,000 plays on SoundCloud by myself, before I even needed management. From there, I built the team that I wanted. It ain’t even about money. It’s about faith and belief in my work ethic that makes everybody say, “I’m not wasting my time. This kid is really serious.” I take pride in my work ethic.
On top of the work ethic, having good morals. With those two together, I think that’s all you need. It’s not about money. If your stuff is together, there’s going to be people to step in and put money on the table. You don’t need that much money to get 100,000 plays if your sh*t is hot.
Over the last year, is there a particular moment in your career that stood out for you?
Recently, a dude from jail who I was real cool with contacted me. I met him in jail, and that’s how I started rapping. When I first got in, he took me under his wing. We were from the same common area and had a common interest in sneakers. We just got real cool. He would listen to me rap and say, “I think you got what it takes.” He would tell me I’m good and gave me the motivation I needed to really get started.
Dude is still in jail, but you know some people can get cellphones in jail. He texted me and said, “I saw you in Hip Hop Weekly magazine. That’s good man. I’m proud of you.” I was just in jail with this guy like two years ago. Next thing you know, he sees me in a magazine. It’s dope. I think that was one of the standout moments in my career.
(AllHipHop News) It’s not very likely a conversation about ghostwriting in Hip Hop would end up including a critique of Kanye West marrying Kim Kardashian, but leave it up to Southern rap legend Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell to make that connection.
The former leader of 2 Live Crew recently spoke with WatchLOUD, and Campbell had some words about Ye’s decision to tie the knot with the famous reality show star. When asked if there was a difference between R&B singers using songwriters and rappers using ghostwriters, Uncle Luke offered his opinion on why things in Hip Hop have changed.
“It used to be a difference. Before Kanye West, rappers weren’t wifing all these hoes. Rappers would be secure with their woman,” said Luke. “When you look at Ice Cube, he’s always been with his wife. You look at Will Smith – he’s always been with [Jada Pinkett Smith]. Hip Hop was different. We didn’t get caught up in the Hollywood thing.”
He added, “We weren’t marrying girls or wifing girls for the internet to blow up.”
The “8” EP is a confident step forward for Chi City, as he shows he can combines his lyrical prowess with solid song making. On the stirring opener “G.H.E.T.T.O Kids”, Chi City details a picture between himself and the outlook of what life in ghetto really was like. “Born and raised in the streets n*gga / Momma wouldn’t of got up out her seat n*gga/ Rosa Parks on the menu dinner plate/ A n*gga ate in the same spot we put our feet n*gga.”
The meaning of “8” is also represented in the cover art, which symbolizes the track titles of every record on the EP. His talents, demonstrated through notable mixtapes have allowed him to gain a core following, but he still haven’t crossed over to puncturing the mainstream as of yet and now Chi City’s new EP “8” attempts to stretch that conversation.
Danny Evans drops the video from his official release. There is a story here that you gotta check for. Really dope if you pay attention. The video is off Danny’s ’NWNM Vol. 2′ Mixtape available now on SoundCloud.
